


It's Like Thunder and Lightning

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Series: Chrisby Modern AU [3]
Category: Lovecraft Country (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Engagement, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: Christina has been agonizing over the right moment to propose. Leti thinks it's stupid, there's no way Ruby will say no. And she knows because Ruby told her so when she found the ring hidden in the third drawer of the vanity.
Relationships: Ruby Baptiste/Christina Braithwhite
Series: Chrisby Modern AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025580
Comments: 11
Kudos: 75





	It's Like Thunder and Lightning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! First and foremost I need to give a huge huge shoutout to AgentSheryl for helping me come up with the ideas for this fic! Thank you, AgentSheryl, I hope I did you proud!  
> Second, I need to let you guys know that I've decided to delay the release of my next story until Monday. I hope you can survive without my daily updates for two whole days. No particular reason except that I want to spend the weekend working on my WIP as much as possible, and now is as good a time as any to take this tiny break.  
> The title for this story comes from Eddie Floyd's Knock on Wood (also known as that one song Emma Stone sang in Easy A). I listened to it after I finished writing this story and I thought it worked very well with the subject of the story, so give it a listen if you have the time.  
> Anyway, as usual, I hope you'll enjoy this story, and I'll see you on Monday for the next multi-chapter one!

When Christina left her office that evening, she wasn't surprised to hear the TV playing in the living room. It had been a while since her house had been silent. Ever since Ruby and Letitia had moved in about a year ago, it'd been difficult to find silence. Not that Christina would complain. She'd grown to like the constant presence of sounds. She imagined this was what a family home was supposed to be like.

  
Leti was seating on the couch watching some reality TV show Christina wanted to know nothing about. It was almost seven-thirty, which meant Ruby would probably come home soon. Still, just in case, Christina asked:

  
"Ruby's home yet?"

  
Leti shrugged, her eyes never leaving the TV.

  
"I think she had something to pick up on her way back."

  
Christina nodded. A sudden surge of nervousness filled her. Now was as good a time as any, she thought. She leaned against the armrest of the armchair and crossed her arms.

  
"Can I talk to you for a second?"

  
Leti frowned and turned off the sound of the TV before looking over at the blonde.

  
"Why so serious?" she asked. "You sound like you're about to tell me you're dying or something."

  
Christina sighed, trying to chase away her anxiety.

  
"It's not that."

  
She decided to just throw it out before she changed her mind.

  
"I'm going to ask Ruby to marry me."

  
Leti froze for a second, and Christina waited for a reaction with apprehension. Then, Leti gave another vague shrug.

  
"Why are you telling me?"

  
"Because you're her sister. And with all the bad blood there was between us, I wanted to make sure you'd be okay with it."

  
"Yeah, it's fine. As long as I can be a bridesmaid."

  
Christina didn't expect this reaction. At the very least, she expected Leti to show just a bit more emotions about it. But since she wasn't opposed to it, Christina considered it a victory.

  
"When are you gonna propose?" Leti asked.

  
"I don't know yet. I've been thinking about it for months but every time I keep delaying it."

  
"What are you scared of? There's seriously no way she's gonna say no."

  
"I just want it to be perfect."

  
Leti rolled her eyes.

  
"At this rate, you'll both be old ladies before you propose."

  
"What do you mean, old?" Christina asked with a frown.

  
"You know, forty."

  
The front door opened and Christina stood up, brushing off Leti's last comment. She walked to the entrance, where Ruby was closing the door and taking her coat off.

  
"Hey," Christina said before approaching.

  
They kissed and Ruby smiled.

  
"Hey, sorry I'm late. The subway was packed like Hell."

  
"It's fine. I was just about to start dinner."

  
"Well I got here just on time to avoid an accident, I see."

  
In the living room, Leti snickered. Christina ignored her. Ruby handed her a bag.

  
"Here, can you get this upstairs? I'll get us started on dinner."

  
"What is it?" Christina asked as she looked into the bag.

  
Inside, she saw a flower dress folded neatly amidst receipts.

  
"The dress I ordered."

  
"Can't wait to peel it off of you," Christina said with a cheeky grin, making Leti gag in the living room.

  
With a satisfied smile, she walked up the stairs, bag in hand. Ruby turned to her sister.

  
"How was school?" she asked.

  
"It was fine."

  
Leti glanced out of the room as if to check that Christina wasn't back already. Then, she whispered.

  
"She told me she was going to propose. You were right about the ring."

  
Ruby's breath hitched in her throat. She glanced back as well, keeping an eye for Christina's return. She'd yet to tell her that she'd accidentally found the ring she was keeping hidden in the third drawer of the vanity. However, she'd told Leti. She'd waited for Christina to propose, but she'd hadn't, and as the days went on, Ruby had begun to think that she'd imagined the ring.

  
"She told you?" Ruby whispered back.

  
"Yeah, she said she's just waiting for the right time."

  
Ruby let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't imagined or daydreamed anything. Christina really was going to propose. Now, she thought, she would just have to curb her enthusiasm and wait patiently for Christina to be ready. Thanksgiving and Christmas were coming up, maybe she would do it then. Or there was their date the following week. So many possibilities.

  
They heard Christina walked back down and Ruby was quick to leave the living room. She met her girlfriend had the bottom of the staircase.

  
"Leti did her homework?" she asked as she moved toward the kitchen.

  
"I suppose."

  
Ruby gave her a look and Christina leaned against the kitchen door frame.

  
"She's almost eighteen, she knows what she's doing."

  
Ruby rolled her eyes.

  
"Yeah, like that time she almost burned down the house making hot pockets you mean."

  
Christina chuckled.

  
"Will you still be monitoring her so close when she goes to college?"

  
"If she goes to college," Ruby pointed out.

  
"Her grades are fine and the portfolio she submitted is great. There's no reason they won't take her."

  
Ruby pulled a paper bag of fresh tomatoes out of the fridge and brought them over to the counter.

  
"Don't let her hear you or she'll stop working completely."

  
She pulled a short knife from the rack and settled a tomato on the cutting board.

  
"And to answer your question yes, I will keep monitoring her work, because she's going to college on your money, and I don't want her to take it for granted."

  
"It's my pleasure, really," Christina assured.

  
"Still, she needs to know that money doesn't grow on trees."

  
Ruby sliced the tomato in half with a precise strike of the knife. Christina asked:

  
"Do you need help?"

  
"Can you wash the lettuce?"

  
Christina said nothing, instead, she pushed herself away from the door frame and went to get the lettuce from the fridge. On her way to the sink, she placed a kiss on Ruby's cheek. Ruby sighed with a smile. She itched to ask about the ring and the proposal, but she pursed her lips and kept shut. She knew she needed to let Christina do this at her own pace.

* * *

Christina had brought her to a fancy restaurant for their date. They'd been there a few times before, so Ruby couldn't help but hope for the evening to end with her girlfriend falling on one knee and proposing. Christina didn't look particularly nervous, but then again, Ruby had never seen her nervous, so it would be hard to tell if she'd planned the proposal or not. By the time dessert had arrived, Ruby had mostly given up on the idea that her girlfriend was going to propose. But then, Christina finished her glass and cleared her throat. Ruby's heart jumped in her chest. Was Christina really going to propose here and there, in the restaurant?

  
"I have to tell you something," she said.

  
Ruby held her breath.

  
"I got a call a few days ago from someone at UCLA. They heard from a colleague at the University of Chicago that I was looking for a position and they asked if I'd be interested."

  
Ruby blinked in surprise and the anxiousness deflated somewhat in her chest.

  
"What did you say?"

  
"I said that I'd think about it."

  
Christina placed her hand over Ruby's, her thumb gently stroking the back of her hand.

  
"I wanted to ask you first because I want you to go with me."

  
"To California?"

  
"Yes. I think it would be a great adventure. And it would put even more distance between me and my father, which I won't complain about."

  
Ruby was still unsure.

  
"What about Leti? She didn't apply to any schools in California."

  
"I'll let her stay at the house, obviously. Or if she'd rather get a room on campus, I'll take care of it too. She's leaving high school, she can handle herself."

  
Ruby sighed and shook her head.

  
"She can't and we both know it. She's not responsible, she can barely handle herself for an evening and you want to leave her the house?"

  
Christina was growing visibly aggravated.

  
"She's old enough that she should be able to handle herself. I was just about her age when I moved out of the house."

  
"Yes but Leti's not you. You had to grow up too quickly, she refuses to grow up."

  
"Then isn't that a good opportunity for her to finally grow up?"

  
"Not if she dies in a very preventable house fire while we're tanning on the beach two thousand miles away."

  
Ruby let out a long sigh, willing herself to calm down. Now was not the time and place for this. Christina leaned back in her chair. She looked down at her plate, then said:

  
"Just think about it, okay?"

* * *

Things were tense in the following few days, to the point that even Leti noticed it. Christina tried to broach the subject again but every time Ruby would cut the conversation short and walk away. Since neither of them wanted to tell Leti what was up and they kept insisting that they were fine, she decided not to ask about it anymore and let them be.

  
Any thoughts about the ring had completely left Ruby's mind. She couldn't believe Christina would even suggest that they abandon Leti in Chicago while they moved to California. If Christina wanted to go, then she should go. Ruby was afraid to phrase it out loud, to tell her go and Christina would follow her order, as painful as it were. But she could not and would not abandon Leti behind.

  
She was alone at home one morning, as Christina and Leti had gone to school when the house phone rang. She picked up quickly:

  
"Hello?"

  
"Hi, this is Sydney Barlow from UCLA. Could I speak with Christina Braithwhite?"

  
Ruby's heart stopped, but she recovered quickly.

  
"I'm sorry, she's at work."

  
"Could you let her know I called? Tell her to call me back before tomorrow to give me her answer, or else we'll consider that she's not interested."

  
"I will."

  
"Thank you. Have a nice day."

  
"Goodbye."

  
Ruby hung up. She thought this would be perfect. She'd just not tell Christina that UCLA had called again, let the deadline slide. Christina would blame herself for taking too long to decide, and things would go back to the way they were before.

  
Ruby hated herself for having even thought of the idea. Christina would hate her if she ever found out, and she was bound to find out because that sort of thing never stayed buried forever. She resigned herself to tell the blonde when she returned home.

* * *

Christina came home ready to collapse into bed. The students had been very excited about the Thanksgiving holidays coming up and very hard to keep in place for even an hour of class. She wanted nothing more than to climb in bed and sleep into the next year if she could. That should make up for the stress-induced sleep deprivation of the past few days.

  
Instead, before she could make it upstairs, Ruby emerged out of the living room and told her:

  
"UCLA called. They said you have until tomorrow to give them an answer."

  
Christina sighed deeply. She turned to look at Ruby. She looked guarded, somewhat scared of Christina's reaction.

  
"What should I tell them?" Christina asked.

  
"I don't know. It's your decision."

  
"It's not. It's our decision to make."

  
Ruby crossed her arms and shook her head.

  
"It's not. It's your decision, for your career. You've been waiting for years for an open position. Just take it."

  
"I won't take it if it takes me away from you," Christina replied. "Why are we Leti coming between us now? She's old enough to handle herself, you're just scared of letting her live her life."

  
"Don't bring her into this!" Ruby shouted back. "She's not responsible enough, and I don't want to be halfway across the country when she might need my help."

  
"You're not her mother," Christina pointed out, then regretted it. Still, she pushed on. "She is more responsible than you think she is."

  
"I'm more of a mother to her than our mother ever was," Ruby said angrily. "And I know that you think independence will do her some good, she's still my responsibility and I won't abandon her. So if you want to leave, then leave. But I'm not leaving her here alone."

  
Christina's jaw clenched, but when she opened it again, it was to sigh.

  
"I'm sorry. That was out of line. I'll call them back."

  
She silently disappeared into her office, shutting the door behind her. For a moment Ruby wasn't sure her legs could stand on their own anymore. She leaned against the wall and let out a shaky breath. She stayed there for a moment, trying to calm her breathing. She felt she'd made the biggest mistake of her life. She struggled to hold back tears.

  
The office door opened and Christina emerged. She glanced at Ruby and walked to the stairs. As she climbed up, she said:

  
"I told them I had to decline but to call me again in a few years if they had another opening."

  
All emotions left Ruby's body for a second before relief took over. She looked at her girlfriend until she disappeared up the stairs. Christina had refused their offer? She couldn't quite believe it, at first. She replayed their conversation in her mind. She'd been so certain she was about to accept. Maybe she'd heard poorly. She walked up the stairs after the blonde. She found Christina seating on their bed and taking off her shoes. When Ruby walked in, Christina paused.

  
"You declined?" Ruby asked, still in disbelief.

  
Christina frowned.

  
"That's what I said."

  
"Are you sure? Aren't you going to regret it?"

  
Christina pulled off her shoe and gave a slight shrug.

  
"There will be other job opportunities, but there will only ever be one of you. I'll regret it, but I'll never regret it more than letting you go."

  
Ruby was struck by Christina's words. If she ever thought she couldn't love her girlfriend any more than she already did, she'd thought wrong. She couldn't hold the smile which blossomed on her lips.

  
"I'm sorry for what I said," Christina added. "You're right. She's your sister, your responsibility, and you can't just leave her behind."

  
"Well, I'm giving her a few years to get her shit together," Ruby said as she walked further into the bedroom. "Two or three. Hopefully, it should be enough for her to learn how to heat hot pockets without blowing up the microwave."

  
Christina smiled. When Ruby stood in front of her, she took her hand in hers.

  
"And then who knows?" Ruby continued. "Maybe you'll be called to California again. Or somewhere else."

  
"We have time," Christina said, placing a kiss in Ruby's palm.

  
"Speaking of which..." Ruby said, grabbing Christina's attention again. "I know you told Leti you were waiting for the right moment, but maybe this is as good a time as any to propose."

  
Christina's eyes grew wide in surprise. Her mouth fell open, and like a fish, she struggled to keep it shut for a few seconds.

  
"Leti..." Christina started, struggling to get over her shock.

  
Ruby shook her head.

  
"I found the ring a few weeks ago. I don't want to say that I've been losing patience, but..."

  
Christina laughed.

  
"I couldn't decide for the right time, and then UCLA called..."

  
"Well, maybe now is the right time?"

  
Since Christina seemed still too shocked to move, Ruby gently freed her hand from Christina's grasp and went to the vanity. She opened the drawer and pulled out the little velvet box. Then, she handed it to Christina, who flipped the box open.

  
"It's a really nice ring," Ruby said. "You picked well."

  
"As soon as I saw it I thought of you."

  
The ring held a large ruby, with two smaller diamonds on either side, braided into the twists and turns of the two golden bands which made up the ring.

  
"That's not what you're supposed to say," Ruby pointed out.

  
Christina took a deep breath. She was still seating on the bed, but with Ruby standing so close to her, she couldn't stand up to kneel. She imagined she was already low enough. She held the box open, presenting the ring to Ruby, and said:

  
"Ruby, my heart, my home, will you marry me?"

  
Ruby smiled fondly.

  
"Yes."

  
Christina extracted the ring out of the box and placed it around Ruby's finger. Then Ruby pulled her up by the collar of her shirt and kissed her deeply. They smiled into the kiss, giddy with love. When they parted, Ruby said:

  
"It wasn't that difficult, now, was it?"

  
"You say that because you weren't the one stressing over every possible detail and outcome."

  
They heard Leti's voice downstairs. Ruby parted from her fiancée just long enough to shout:

  
"Leti! We're engaged!"

  
Leti, who was pulling her hot bucket of popcorn out of the microwave, walked by the staircase and shouted:

  
"Awesome! Everyone thought you were already married anyway!"

  
She heard no answer, except the bedroom door shutting loudly. She shook her head with a sigh and went to the living room, where she increased the sound of the TV. They were like two lovesick teenagers all the time, she thought, incapable of keeping their hands off of each other. Hopefully one day they would grow up.


End file.
